Space-shuttle photograph of Greenland. View toward the north showing the
southern portion. All land and the ice sheet are snow-covered, and the
surrounding sea is clear (except some clouds) in this winter view. Nansen's first major
accomplishment was crossing this portion of the ice sheet.
Space-shuttle photograph STS27-32-17, 12/88. Obtained from the NASA
Johnson Space Center.

Nansen, Otto Sverdrup and four other companions departed Norway in May 1888. After weather
delays, they were set on the eastern coast of Greenland in July, 200 miles (300 km) south of
their intended starting point. They journeyed north and finally began the crossing on
August 15th. This was several weeks later than originally planned. During the crossing,
they endured extreme cold (-70 °F) and snowstorms. They were able to "sail" sleds over
hard ice at times. They reached a maximum altitude of 8920 feet elevation. The party
eventually made the west coast on September 26th. There, they constructed small boats of
willow branches and sail cloth to sail to Godthåb, the Danish capital of Greenland.
Because of their late arrival, they missed the last ship back to Europe, so they had to spend
the winter. During this time, Nansen gathered material for a book on Inuit culture. The
expedition finally returned to Norway in May 1888 to a hero's welcome.

Portrait of Fridtjof Nansen in 1890 shortly after his return from Greenland. In the public domain; obtained from Wikimedia Commons.

The Fram set sail from Christiania with Nansen, Otto Sverdrup (capitan), and a crew
of 11 on June 24, 1893. The expedition sailed around Norway, to Novaya Zemlya (Russia), across
the Kara Sea, and past Cape Chelyuskin. The ship became frozen in north of the New Siberian
Islands at 78°N latitude in late September. The long drift began. The Fram bore
the ice pressure easily.

In March of 1895, Nansen and Frederik Johansen departed the Fram and attempted to reach
the North Pole. They took three dog sleds for crossing the ice and kayaks to traverse open water.
They actually reached 86°14' N latitude, the farthest north anyone had been at the time.
They turned back when their dogs began to give out and reached Franz Josef Land, where they
spent the winter, August 1895 to May 1896. They lived in a hut they made of stone with a roof
of walrus hides; they ate polar bear and walrus using the blubber as fuel.

Nansen and Johansen started to Svalbard the next summer and met Jackson's party from a British
expedition. They returned to Norway on the British ship Windward, reaching Vardø on August 13, 1896. Meanwhile, the Fram drifted as far north as 85°57' and eventually was released from the pack ice. Many scientific observations and experiments were
conducted. Nansen, Fram and crew were reunited finally and returned to Christiania on
September 9, 1896, once again to a hero's welcome.

A 2-volume work on Fram over Polhavet was published in 1897. The English translation, titled Farthest North, came out the same year. Nansen's success as an explorer was due to his careful evaluation of difficulties and risks, thorough planning, and meticulous attention to detail.